Iranian Oil Tanker ‘Sanchi’ Sinks in East China Sea with no survivor

An Iranian oil tanker called The Sanchi
has sunk after it has been adrift and on fire for more than a week in the East
China Sea.

Because of the hull of the ship had been
denoted, as the media report, a huge amount of oil in surrounding waters was on
fire.

The Sanchi had the crew of 30 Iranians
and two Bangladeshis; a Chinese salvage team, it is reported, has recovered three
bodies and the remaining 29 crew members and passengers of the tanker were
presumed dead.

Iran’s government declared a day of
mourning on Monday to honour “ the brave mariners who died in the course of
their mission to advance the country’s goals and suffered a terrible disaster
and joined the martyrs,” according to an official statement carried by state
media.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani sent
messages of condolence to the families of the crew and called for an
investigation into the accident, Iranian state media reported.

The tanker, owned by National Iranian
Tanker Co, was carrying almost 1 million barrels of condensate, an ultra-light
crude oil, to South Korea.

It collided with the CF
Crystal (IMO:9497050), which was carrying grain from the United States, about
160 nautical miles (184 km) off China’s coast near Shanghai.